Elephant Journal: Walk the Talk Show with Waylon Lewis

In this episode, Waylon discusses what we should do if the world is going to hell. “There’s no difference between a pessimist who says, ‘It’s all over, don’t bother trying to do anything, forget about voting, it won’t make a difference,’ and an optimist who says, ‘Relax, everything is going to turn out fine.’ Either way the results are the same. Nothing gets done.” ~ Yvon Chouinard. Podcast produced by: Vanessa Boehm; Music by Adam Agee, recorded live at Walk the Talk Show events.

Seane Corn has long been a mentor, friend, and troublemaker—a yogi as self-critical, loving—in my world. Here's our video conversation, about her new book, Revolution of the Soul. Podcast produced by: Vanessa Boehm; Music by Adam Agee, recorded live at Walk the Talk Show events.

In this episode, Waylon responds to a question from the audience: “I’m 40, childless, not making $$$. I feel like a failure sometimes.” Podcast produced by: Vanessa Boehm; Music by Adam Agee, recorded live at Walk the Talk Show events. Thank you to our mindful sponsor, Klean Kanteen. 

When life gets a little crazy and meditation and mindfulness and yoga and all the wellness foods aren't cutting it, what do we do? What would Buddhist say about that? Podcast produced by: Vanessa Boehm; Music by Adam Agee, recorded live at Walk the Talk Show events. Thank you to our mindful sponsor, Klean Kanteen. 

Waylon Lewis talks with founder of Earth Hero, Ryan Lewis, about conscious consumerism—why it matters, how to become a conscious consumer, and examples of everyday products made with the environment and our well being in mind. If inspired by the products you heard about in this podcast, check out Earth Hero's website at earthhero.com and use the code Elephant15 at checkout to get 15% off your purchase. Podcast produced by: Vanessa Boehm; Music by Adam Agee, recorded live at Walk the Talk Show events.

“Idiot compassion is the highly conceptualized idea that you want to do good….But that doesn’t mean to say that you have to be gentle all the time. Your gentleness should have heart, strength. If you go to a shop and the shopkeeper cheats  you and you go back and let him cheat you again, that doesn’t seem to be a very healthy thing to do for others.” ~ Chogyam Trungpa Podcast produced by: Vanessa Boehm; Music by Adam Agee, recorded live at Walk the Talk Show events.

Waylon responds to a listener's question: “What would the Buddha say about when to fight? I don't want to be a pushover but I don't want to spend a second of my life fighting. I wonder, if at times, I have a responsibility to fight to ensure other people aren’t mistreated. I don’t want to fight for myself, but should I fight for others? When should I go to battle and when should I let it go?” Podcast produced by: Vanessa Boehm; Music by Adam Agee, recorded live at Walk the Talk Show events.

Waylon talks with dancer Marlo Fisken re: her experience with Jeffrey Epstein, Sexual Assault awareness, #MeToo. Podcast produced by: Vanessa Boehm; Music by Adam Agee, recorded live at Walk the Talk Show events.

“Nonviolence means avoiding not only external physical violence but also internal violence of spirit. You not only refuse to shoot a man, but you refuse to hate him.” ~ Martin Luther King Jr..Waylon answers a question from a listener: "How can we love people who are so evil?" Podcast produced by: Vanessa Boehm; Music by Adam Agee, recorded live at Walk the Talk Show events.

Waylon answers questions from the audience—how do you know if you should stay or leave a relationship? How do you handle conflict in a relationship? How do you decide if your relationship needs fixing or if you should just leave it? Do the annoying little habits your partner has really matter? Podcast produced by: Vanessa Boehm; Music by Adam Agee, recorded live at Walk the Talk Show events.

From a Buddhist perspective, the good news about grief is that we can all let go of it. The bad news is that letting go is hard, and letting go of something or someone we hold very dear to our hearts can be insulting to our egos. But enlightenment is just that—the ultimate insult to the ego. So, we learn to let go and the way to let go is to remember that we are okay. Nothing is fundamentally wrong with us. Podcast produced by: Vanessa Boehm; Music by Adam Agee, recorded live at Walk the Talk Show events.

In this episode, Waylon explores the notion that being vegan is something that is only possible for privileged folk, or folk who want to be distinguished and distinctive. Waylon dives into why he is vegan and common misconceptions surrounding a plant-based lifestyle, such as how expensive it is. Podcast produced by: Vanessa Boehm; Music by Adam Agee, recorded live at Walk the Talk Show events.

“We should always be a little broken-hearted. Broken-heartedness is not something that we are trying to get away from. We want to be broken-hearted all the time, because that leads to empathy. And empathy leads to catharsis. And catharsis leads to joy—genuine joy. Joy is another way of saying love. We cannot experience genuine joy or love if our heart is not open.” ~ Waylon Lewis. Podcast produced by: Vanessa Boehm; Music by Adam Agee, recorded live at Walk the Talk Show events.

“From a serious point of view, it is incredibly helpful to be told not to start the entrepreneurial path. If you refuse to stop after hearing everything you are about to hear, then you should proceed.” ~ Waylon Lewis. Podcast produced by: Vanessa Boehm; Music by Adam Agee, recorded live at Walk the Talk Show events.

In this episode, Waylon dives into how we can approach having difficult conversations with the people we care most about and why being able to have these difficult conversations is crucial to our overall well being. Podcast produced by: Vanessa Boehm; Music by Adam Agee, recorded live at Walk the Talk Show events.